New party's vision

Lawyer and One Fiji Party leader Filimoni Vosarogo outside the High Court in Suva. Picture: JONE LUVENITOGA

ONE Fiji Party may be the newest party in the political arena but it is turning heads a bit with its vision for Fiji.

Party leader Filimoni Vosarogo said Fiji should evolve into a land of opportunities.

"The future that our children and our children's children will inherit from us will be a more racially tolerant future, a more racially tolerant nation of Fiji, a more economically advanced one, and a nation where people can really find opportunities," he said.

"When I say a racially tolerant Fiji or a racially tolerant future, what I mean is that we have an obligation now to resolve our racial differences, bridge our racial divide, and the only way we think that we can do that is we need to appreciate that race is a fact of life.

"If anything, it is not something that should separate us, if anything it should be something that brings us together.

"There has to be a greater understanding and a greater appreciation of others cultures and other races."

Mr Vosarogo said the issue of race was created by people to suit their own political agenda, "to divide and rule knowing well that as a nation Fiji's chances fares well better when its people stand united".

He said this had let Fiji slip economically as well.

"I don't think there was any issue about this in the early '70s.

"There never was. We had an economy that was thriving in the 1970s.

"Investment was at 20 per cent even and before 1987 we had investment levels at 25 per cent," he said.

"We were on par with Singapore, Malaysia and North Korea. Now all of these countries have shot to developed status and we have lagged behind trying to find a footing and we keep getting dragged back because we had issues that we needed to resolve.

"I am of the view that I should be proud of my heritage.

"You should be proud of your culture and things that make you belong to a particular race just as I would.

"And we can bring that with understanding and form a national identity," said Mr Vosarogo.